Hungarian and Italian Film Fests, and an Alice in Wonderland Ballet: Your Weekly Movie To-Do List

The 13th Hungarian Film Festival makes its way back to Laemmle's NoHo 7, with two features and a short on Friday. At 7:15 p.m., watch The Notebook, based on Hungarian writer Agota Kristof's first novel, about teen twins who are forced to live with their evil grandmother (you can also catch it every night throughout the fest, which ends Nov. 21). Also at 7:15 p.m. is The Two of Us, a short from director Barbara Kulcsar (who will be present for a Q&A), about a married couple who go on a weekend trip to try to rekindle their romance. Then at 9:30 p.m. is Costa-Gavras' Music Box, written by Joe Eszterhas, in which a Hungarian immigrant is accused of being a war criminal and defended in court by his daughter. Tickets and more information at hffla.com.

Cinema Italian Style 2013, a celebration of Italian cinema, is at the and Egyptian theaters through Nov. 23. It opened Thursday with Italy's official Oscar submission for Best Foreign-Language Film, The Great Beauty, and continues tonight with a double feature of A Perfect Family and Welcome Mr. President at 7:30 p.m. The former tells the story of a wealthy man who hires actors to be his family so he won't have to spend another Christmas alone. The latter follows a common fisherman who is mistaken for the president. Actresses from both films will be on hand to introduce them. The full schedule is at americancinemathequecalendar.com.

Sunday, Nov. 17

In an adaptation of Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando, Tilda Swinton plays an androgynous nobleman, from the Elizabethan age through the centuries and into modern times. This Queer/Art/Film event on 5:30 p.m. at Cinefamily is curated by Jamie Babbit, who discusses it and other films by director Sally Potter.

Tuesday, Nov. 19

From Fathom Events and the Royal Opera House Live Season comes a broadcast of the ballet Alice's Adventures in Wonderland from London's Covent Garden. Follow the White Rabbit and don't be late to your local theater at 7 p.m.

At Los Feliz 3 at 9:40 p.m., it's the 25th-anniversary screening of Akira as part of the Coming Back Cinema series. Akira is an animated masterpiece of dream and action sequences telling of how Tokyo is destroyed in an explosion, starting World War III. Tetsuo Shima, the protagonist, leads a biker gang trying to prevent the release of the psychic Akira.

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